Breaking the
Rules
“You'll
learn as you get older that rules are made to be broken. Be bold
enough to live life on your own terms, and never apologize for it. Go
against the grain, refuse to conform, take the road less traveled
instead of the well beaten path. Laugh in the face of adversity, leap
before you look. March to the beat of your own drummer, and
stubbornly refuse to fit in.”
Mandy Haly
(The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass)
I have been away—you
may have noticed, but maybe not. I hurt my back picking up a box of
“stuff” that was too heavy for me, and it sent my low back into
spasm. It was a dumb thing to do. When I called my doctor, I got an
incredible run around of who could and could not see me and when. I
was advised to go the ER. If you've ever been to the ER late at
night, you know that is not an option. When I couldn't move without
excruciating pain, my women friends took over. One of them brought
muscle relaxants and pain pills, one brought food and another came
and literally slept in the bed with me so she could wake me up to
take the medicine on schedule. I finally saw a nurse practitioner,
not a doctor today, a full four days after the insult that left me
unable to change position without screaming in pain. Yes, I was glad
to see her and grateful for the bolus shot of steroid that has
semi-tamed the inflammation in my back—but please, don't tell me
that America has the best medical care in the world! If you ask me,
that ranks right up there with Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in
terms of fantasy.
What I did learn is that
friends are priceless; I learned to ask for help when I need it and
be gracious in receiving it. I broke all the rules—took someone
else's medicine, cried like a baby when I hurt, and did not ask
forgiveness for being a hardship on anyone. I also learned that
birthday's count for something besides getting gifts. When we pass
sixty, we need to think twice before picking up heavy loads, climbing
ladders or going on roofs, and when we're impaired by pain or
medication for pain, we should not get behind the wheel of a car.
You're not brave and strong when you do those things, you're just
dumb and asking for trouble.
Refuse to conform in this
way: don't let other people tell you who you are, or what you should
believe. If you have a way of life that works for you, stick to it.
Also, don't feel that you have to be like other people to be loved.
You will find out who loves you when the chips are down and you are
in need of help. The best way to get through this world in one piece
is to be the most authentic you there is to be—don't run with the
herd, or compete to be top dog. Just be you. That's enough. Actually,
that's more than enough.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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